This time it really is a round-up as I look at 22 western films
(actually 18 western films, 2 western serials, 1 western TV series,
and 1 John Wayne biography) that have appeared mainly over the past
few months.

Inspired by the success of The
Vigilantes Are Coming, a 1936 serial starring Robert
Livingston and featuring a masked avenger, Republic decided to
resurrect Zorro - a character that had lain dormant since Douglas
Fairbanks's portrayals in the mid-1920s. As a warm-up, it used
Robert Livingston once again in the 1936 feature The
Bold Caballero, which basically played out the
traditional Zorro story of the masked Robin Hood who deals with the
Spanish oppressors of the put-upon natives. Livingston was being
built up by Republic as a star of its more major productions at the
time, but he looks uncomfortable in much of the film. The 69-minute
production is a little ragged, with less-than-persuasive sword
fights for example, as Republic was not yet the well-oiled
western-making machine that it would soon become. It also suffers
from the use of Sig Rumann as the chief villain. Rumann reminds one
too much of his more comedic roles (in the likes of A
Night at the Opera, To Be or
Not to Be) to be taken really seriously as an evil
commandant. The film was shot using an early two-colour process.

In 1937, Republic embarked on its first true Zorro serial - Zorro
Rides Again. The 12-chapter effort features John Carroll
in the title role, as the great grandson of Zorro returns to
California where he must try to prevent the takeover of the
California-Yucatan Railroad by a nefarious investment banker named
Marsden. Duncan Renaldo appears as Zorro's loyal friend; Noah Beery
Sr. plays Marsden; and Richard Alexander is the latter's main
henchman, El Lobo. The plot is one of the then-popular blends of the
old west with more modern elements such as planes and trucks. This
allowed for a little more variety in the chapter endings than was
otherwise the case with western serials. Republic was hitting its
stride by this time, and with the directing team of William Witney
and John English in charge, the action is plentiful and generally
well-mounted. Unfortunately, the serial's resolution is handled in a
rather cursory fashion, undoing some of the earlier momentum.

After another dip at the Zorro well in the superior Zorro's
Fighting Legion (1939) serial, Republic took a break for
five years before apparently returning to the character in 1944 with
the 12-chapter serial Zorro's Black Whip.
I say "apparently" because the only appearance of Zorro is
in the serial's title. The main character is a mysterious avenger
called The Black Whip who certainly dresses like Zorro and uses a
whip, but that's as far as it goes. The Black Whip provides
assistance to government agent Vic Gordon who is working undercover
in Idaho where he is trying to root out a gang of outlaws intent on
preventing the coming of law and order that would accompany the
territory becoming a state. One of the serial's chief assets is the
presence of serial queen Linda Stirling who early on assumes the
role of The Black Whip. George Lewis, more often a heavy, plays the
role of Vic Gordon likably and with good authority. Familiar face
Francis McDonald is the brains behind the outlaws and his chief
henchmen are portrayed by the likes of Hal Taliaferro and John
Merton - typical roles for them. Direction this time was by the team
of Spencer Bennet and Wallace Grissell who had a significantly
smaller budget to work with than nearly any other Republic serial
due to wartime belt-tightening. This translated into shorter chapter
lengths and the use of a retrospective chapter two-thirds of the way
through the serial. Action was once again well-staged, reflecting
second unit work by Yakima Canutt. Overall, the serial is an
entertaining outing, but no more than an average entry in the
Republic serial canon.

Various Republic Zorro serials are available from many sources
including Roan Group, VCI, the Serial Squadron, and Image. The
latter's are the versions reviewed here and are being put out under
the Hal Roach Studios imprint. All are quite watchable, although
none will be mistaken for the better restorations of classic titles
available from the likes of Warner Brothers or Fox. Each is
described as being "mastered from original 35mm nitrate camera
negative and fine grains". Zorro
Rides Again is presented full frame as originally shot.
The image is a little schizophrenic, ranging from reasonably crisp
one minute to somewhat washed out the next. Contrast is a problem at
times and numerous scratches and speckles are present. The mono
sound is clear enough, but hiss and crackle are in evidence. There
is no sub-titling. Included as extras are trailers for six Republic
serials - Darkest Africa, Radar
Men from the Moon, Robinson
Crusoe of Clipper Island, SOS
Coast Guard, The Undersea
Kingdom, and Zorro Rides Again.
Faring somewhat better is Zorro's Black
Whip, also correctly presented full frame. The image is
more consistently clear and fairly crisp, although there are
occasions when it deteriorates a bit. Shadow detail is fairly good.
The mono sound is once again quite workable, with less hiss than on
Zorro Rides Again. There is no
sub-titling. As a special bonus, the disc includes the full-length
feature The Bold Caballero.
The version presented is a black and white one mastered from the "red
element" that survives from the original two-colour process in
which the film was shot. The image is workable but overall is in the
poorest shape of the three titles reviewed here. It's clear enough
overall, but often suffers from blooming of the whites and general
softness. Shadow detail suffers accordingly, and speckles and
scratches abound. The mono sound is about on a par with that of Zorro
Rides Again. For Zorro fans, however, it's a pleasure to
have this available and is a strong selling point for the Zorro's
Black Whip disc. It seems strange then that you only know
it's on the disc if you read the back of the case. Due to its
inclusion of The Bold Caballero,
the Zorro's Black Whip disc is
recommended.

Duel in the Sun
(1946)
(released on DVD by MGM on May 25th, 2004)

Producer David O' Selznick wasn't exactly a big western fan, but in
Niven Busch's novel of the McCanles family (a tale somewhat
notorious for some steamy sex scenes between one of the McCanles
sons, Lewt, and Pearl Chavez, a young half-breed), Selznick saw an
opportunity for Jennifer Jones, with whose career he was becoming
obsessed. Selznick managed to secure the film rights and set about
mounting a Gone-with-the-Wind-like
production. It was Selznick's feeling that combining more spectacle
than had ever been seen in a western along with a violent love story
would lead to great success. Nine months of shooting in 1945
characterized by endless rewrites, retakes, union disputes, and the
eventual walk-out of director King Vidor all resulted in costs of
almost $5 million and over 26 hours of film. An initial cut of
almost four hours was previewed to unsatisfactory results, leading
to further retakes and additional scenes which were massaged into a
cut of 138 minutes for the film's official opening. Further cuts
then had to be made to placate various censorship groups in order to
ensure the film's financial success during its countrywide release.
As it turned out, Selznick need not have worried. The public flocked
to the film.

On
viewing the film, it isn't hard to see why. Despite its
excesses, it's a compelling story told on a broad canvas in rich
Technicolor with a rousing score by Dimitri Tiomkin. The action
of the plot turns on the issue of railroad access across the
vast McCanles ranch, but the film's real focus is on the family
relationships whose problems are heightened when Pearl Chavez,
niece of Laura Belle McCanles, comes to live at the ranch after
her father is hanged for murder. Both the McCanles sons, Jesse
and Lewt, are attracted to Pearl, as she is to them. But it is
the violently sexual relationship between Lewt and Pearl that
eventually splits the family wide apart. Selznick managed to
assemble a real powerhouse cast for the film including Gregory
Peck (Lewt), Jennifer Jones (Pearl), Joseph Cotton (Jesse),
Lillian Gish (Laura Belle), Lionel Barrymore (patriarch Jackson
McCanles), Herbert Marshall (Pearl's father), Walter Huston (the
sinkiller), and Charles Bickford (ranch strawboss). All are
excellent in their roles although Jennifer Jones's efforts at
smoldering looks are sometimes excessive. Peck is particularly
effective as the lascivious Lewt. King Vidor's direction is
steady although in the end he only filmed about half of the
on-screen footage, as Selznick's interference finally drove him
to leave the set. Others such as Joseph von Sternberg and
William Dieterle directed small parts. The film's most
impressive set-piece, and worth the price of admission in
itself, is the spectacle of the confrontation between the
McCanles cowboys and the army, truly a magnificent marshalling
of riders and horses.

MGM
presents the film full frame in accord with the original aspect
ratio. This is apparently the same source material that Anchor Bay
had for its previous (and second) release of the title. It's the
roadshow version complete with Tiomkin's overture and exit music,
for a running time of 146 minutes. The Technicolor image is in very
fine shape with both good colour fidelity (there is a slightly
heightened reddish cast to the image, but this may have been
intentional) and decent shadow detail. There are very few blemishes
to be seen. Some minor edge effects are the only detraction from
what is quite a sharp presentation. The results are fairly similar
to what Anchor Bay achieved on its disc; at most MGM's is slightly
sharper. The mono sound track is quite adequate for the job although
there is noticeable distortion at higher volumes. Anchor Bay's disc
did not suffer from this to the same extent. English, French, and
Spanish subtitles are included. The only extra is the original
theatrical trailer. If the sub-titles are not an important
consideration, there's no reason to trade in the previous Anchor Bay
disc should you have it.

Angel and the Badman
(1947)
(released on DVD by Image on Oct. 29th, 2002)

A couple of superior John Wayne westerns from the mid-1940s often
tend to get overlooked. One is Tall in
the Saddle, which was a 1944 RKO release that is
sometimes regarded as Wayne's best western work since Stagecoach.
Unfortunately it's not available on DVD as yet. The second is Angel
and the Badman (a 1947 Republic release) which is
available on DVD from a number of sources because of its apparent
public domain status. It was John Wayne's first foray into
production himself. He took the plunge with this particular film
because the story with its strong central character appealed to him
and it was written by a good friend, James Edward Grant. Wayne plays
badman Quirt Evans who is nursed to health by a family of Quakers
after being shot. He and the young Quaker daughter, Penny Worth,
gradually fall in love as Quirt comes to appreciate the virtues of
the Quaker lifestyle. Meanwhile, old nemesis Laredo Stevens
threatens Quirt's future while U.S. marshal Wistful McClintock
remains watchful should Quirt revert to his old ways.

There's
not much action in this western, but the thoughtful story and
strong performances more than compensate. Wayne looks very
comfortable in his role and he receives strong support from a
young Gail Russell as Penny, Bruce Cabot as Laredo, Lee Dixon as
Quirt's partner Randy, and especially Harry Carey as Wistful.
The film is well shot with some good camerawork on the limited
action sequences. Whether this is attributable mainly to
first-time director James Grant (who had managed to convince
Wayne to let him direct his own script) or to Wayne's control of
the shoot is open to debate. The film was shot in the Los
Angeles area, although it opened with some Monument Valley
footage that evoked the work of John Ford. The film presents a
gentle story that Ford might have directed, but there is no
suggestion that he at any time had any involvement in it.

The
version reviewed here is one issued by Image Entertainment as part
of its Hal Roach Studios line of releases. The full frame image (in
accord with the original aspect ratio) is quite workable. For a
public domain release, the presentation is a mixture of sharp and
soft sequences with the former dominating. Night-time sequences are
rather murky. The image is free of edge effects. The mono sound is
adequate, although there is plenty of hiss in evidence. There is no
sub-titling. Extras include trailers for six serials. The film is
also available on DVD from Roan Group, but its transfer is somewhat
inferior to Image's.

Blazing Across the Pecos
(1948)
(released on DVD by Columbia on Sept. 14th, 2004)

Columbia's most enduring cowboy star was Charles Starrett. His
debut western was 1935's Gallant Defender
and for the next 17 years he appeared virtually exclusively in
westerns for the studio. In 1940, he appeared in a masked avenger
story called The Durango Kid
wherein he played the title role. At the time, this was a one-shot
effort as far as the character was concerned, but in 1945, Columbia
resurrected the Durango Kid character for Starrett in Return
of the Durango Kid. Starrett would play the character in
all his remaining westerns.

Starrett
certainly looked the part of the western star and managed to
display a fair aptitude for western heroics, but his acting
style was somewhat wooden and he really needed strong production
values and good casts to compensate. Unfortunately, aside from
its Gene Autry westerns, these were too often in short supply at
Columbia when it came to its later western series. As the 1940s
wore on, the Durango Kid westerns became repetitive and were
more and more tiresome to watch. The plots were thin and
unimaginative, telegraphing their stories even more than the
standard series western. Blazing
Across the Pecos is a perfect example. In it, the
mayor of Pecos Flats is secretly supplying Indians with guns so
that they can attack a rival's business concerns. The Durango
Kid happens on the situation and cleans it up. And that's about
it! There's nothing to compensate for the thin story, either in
the main supporting players (particularly Charles Wilson as the
mayor, or those playing his henchmen), the uninspired buffoonery
of Smiley Burnette, or the film's action content. The latter
lacks any spark of inspiration.

Columbia
has just released this title on DVD. One really wonders what the
thinking process is over there. You would think that if you were
interested in making money from such a release, you would look to
the better entries in the series and showcase them so that fans feel
they're not being taken. The choice of a poor Durango Kid western,
with a running time of less than an hour, alone on a single disc at
a SRP of $19.95 is not going to result in much business. Why not at
least pair the first two Durango Kid westerns on a single disc and
see what sort of interest one might generate, rather than the
market-killing approach that Columbia has taken? For those who care,
the disc's full frame presentation is fine - quite a crisp and
relatively blemish-free image for such a minor item. The mono sound
is adequate. Extras consist of three preview trailers that can only
be watched all together. One of them is for Bridge
on the River Kwai, which tells you all you need to know
about the amount of thought that Columbia has put into this release.

The Man from Colorado
(1948)
(released on DVD by Columbia on June 8th, 2004)

Glenn Ford was one of those actors you could always rely upon for a
good, steady performance. His was a career of fine if seldom
scintillating portrayals and at age 88, he is now one of the few
remaining stars of the Golden Age still alive. During the 1940s and
early 1950s, he was under contract to Columbia and appeared in
several memorable films of the period including Gilda
and The Big Heat. Even from
early in his career, he appeared comfortable if somewhat fresh-faced
in western films such as The Desperadoes
(1943) and Texas (1941), the
latter with a young William Holden. In 1948, a more mature-looking
Ford reteamed with Holden to make The Man
from Colorado, a superior western entry for that year.
The story concerns Civil War officer Owen Devereaux who comes to
love killing and whose violent behaviour continues when he becomes a
judge after the war is over. Del Stewart, Owen's friend and
fellow-officer during the war and town marshal under Devereaux
thereafter, tries to restrain Devereaux's violent tendencies. But
when former soldiers find themselves unfairly dealt with by
Devereaux, they take up arms against him and Stewart and Devereaux
eventually find themselves pitted against each other.

The
end of World War II signaled a change in the western film. Until
that time, the emphasis had been on the B series western or A
westerns that were large scale extravaganzas such as Dodge
City or Union Pacific.
Now westerns with more mature themes started to appear, such as
Blood on the Moon, Pursued,
and Colorado Territory,
presaging the so-called psychological westerns of the 1950s.
The Man from Colorado fit
into this transition period neatly with its tale of a character
mentally damaged by war and increasingly unable to control his
love of killing. The film successfully maintains its focus on
this character by contrasting him with his best friend in a love
triangle and by casting lesser known actors to portray those
opposed to him. The result was a thoughtful drama that also did
right by traditional western enthusiasts by including a good
measure of action highlighted by the climactic set-piece in a
burning town. Ford is excellent as Devereaux and William Holden
once again combines effectively with him as Stewart. Also in the
cast are such stalwarts as Ray Collins and Edgar Buchanan, with
Ellen Drew providing a little more spunk than the standard love
interest window-dressing. The story is staged stylishly and
suspensefully by Henry Levin, a director who could turn a
competent hand to many genres of film.

Columbia
has done a fine job on this Technicolor film. The full-frame image
(consistent with the original aspect ratio) is bright and colourful,
capturing the rich Technicolor palette accurately. The picture is
sharp and clear with fine shadow detail. Only occasional speckles
mar an otherwise exemplary effort. The mono sound is quite adequate,
free from age-related hiss or distortion. English and Japanese
subtitles are provided. The disc includes several trailers but none
for The Man from Colorado.
Recommended.

Cow Town (1950)Sons of New Mexico
(1950)
(released on DVD by Image on May 25th, 2004)

Indian Territory
(1950)Texans Never Cry
(1951)
(released on DVD by Image on July 13th, 2004)

Whirlwind (1951)
(released on DVD by Image on September 14th, 2004)

In 1947, Gene Autry took his production unit from Republic to
Columbia where he would remain for the remainder of his feature film
career (it ended in 1953). The Columbia releases were produced under
the Gene Autry Productions banner with Armand Schaefer as producer
and the direction most commonly by Frank McDonald, John English, and
latterly George Archainbaud. During this period, Autry's on-screen
persona assumed a less flamboyant look with more conservative dress,
and there was an emphasis on fisticuffs. Gene was obviously adept at
the latter and demonstrated it in the films, but there was less
attention to it than to elaborately staged and gritty fights. Two or
three songs continued to be featured in each film. In the later
Columbias, Gail Davis was usually the female lead with first Pat
Buttram and then Smiley Burnette providing comic relief. Over the
past five months, Image has released a half dozen more titles in its
continuing collection of Autry titles. These all date from the
middle of his Columbia period and range in quality from mediocre to
very good in terms of entertainment value. Five of these releases
are reviewed here.

Whirlwind is the best of the
bunch. In it, Gene is a postal inspector who tries to crack a
well-organized gang of robbers headed by rancher Big Jim Lassiter.
The story is well-crafted and photographed, and is punctuated with
some good action sequences. As was common with his Columbia films,
Gene looks more natural and comfortable in his role than he did in
many of his previous Republic outings. The supporting cast is
excellent with Thurston Hall as Big Jim and the likes of Harry
Lauter, Dick Curtis, and Kenne Duncan as his henchmen. Smiley
Burnette replaces Pat Buttram as Gene's sidekick for this entry. In
Texans Never Cry, Gene plays a
Texas Ranger on the trail of a gang of counterfeiters dealing in
phony Mexican lottery tickets. This one's not quite in Whirlwind's
class because its story seems a little thin for the 68-minute
running time and the supporting players don't particularly stand
out. Pat Buttram is around and the action content is fine, however.
Indian Territory is a pretty
traditional entry, story-wise, in which Gene plays an undercover
Indian agent intent on getting to the bottom of several Indian
uprisings. The film offers attractive camera work and reasonable
action, but is no more than standard Autry fare. James Griffith is
not particularly effective as one of the bad guys. Gene somehow
manages a rendition of "Chattanooga Shoeshine Boy". Sons
of New Mexico finds Gene the guardian of a deceased
friend's son who falls under the influence of gamblers. He sends the
son to the New Mexico Military Institute to straighten the boy out,
hence the film's title. This one offers a somewhat novel plot for a
B western, and the story is well executed by director John English.
Robert Armstrong makes for a good villain, and Clayton Moore (TV's
Lone Ranger) makes a welcome appearance. This marked Gail Davis's
first appearance in one of Gene's westerns. Cow
Town is the most disappointing of this bunch. The story
finds rancher Gene Autry intent on using the new invention of barbed
wire to save his cattle from rustlers. Gene's performance is very
perfunctory and the action (aside from a fight with Jock Mahoney)
and supporting cast are not inspiring. Some of the songs are more
awkwardly integrated into the story than usual.

Image's DVD presentation of each of these films is quite similar.
The transfers (correctly presented full frame) are quite good with
crisp images, good shadow resolution, and nicely detailed gray
scales. There is very minor speckling and some grain in evidence
(the latter somewhat more noticeable on Whirlwind
than the others), but only minimal edge effects. Autry fans should
be very pleased with what they see. The mono sound is in good shape
and is generally free of significant hiss or crackle. Each disc
contains the reminiscences provided by Gene Autry and Pat Buttram on
the "Melody Ranch Theater" television presentations of the
films; excerpts from the original "Melody Ranch Radio Show";
poster, lobby card, and production still galleries; original press
kit material, and the original theatrical trailer. All are
recommended for Autry fans, but if you only want one, Whirlwind
is the one to get.